To see the beauty in the ordinary
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes ~ Marcel Proust
I am endlessly captivated by the changing seasons and walking in nature is my favourite way to meditate. I remember likening my own cancer treatment to the seasons. I was diagnosed in autumn, as the leaves began to fall from the trees; began chemotherapy in the darkest days of winter, when I also shed my hair; my newly sprouted hair came with the first signs of spring; and I emerged in the sunshine of summer, all treatment over. I found it a powerful and comforting image to hold onto, reflecting that there are seasons when things die and are reborn; seasons of ripening and blossoming; seasons of dark and quiet.
There is something very striking in the stark beauty of winter and I find myself on my walks taking picture after picture of the bare trees silhouetted against the sky. Seeing the beauty in winter and the dark times of our lives can sometimes take Proust’s “new eyes to see ” as the following reflection from Terry Hershey illustrates.
In my winter garden–now sodden and weary–a visitor said to me, “There’s not much to see here, is there?” “True,” I told him, “But it all depends on what you are looking for.”
For if you look up, you will see the filigreed canopy created by our 150-foot cedar tree. Or off to the side, notice the mottled rust bark of our native madrone tree, revealing, like shedding skin, a trunk with the polished gleam of a cinnamon swizzle stick. Or admire the dark, rich green of our native yew, covered with red-hot tinged berries resembling miniature pitted olives. Which is all well and good, except that the disappointment is real, and you find yourself wishing you could make it up to anyone disappointed. We soooo want the garden–like life–to indulge and thrill us nonstop, we miss the obvious fact that gardens need winter just to catch their breath.
And here’s the deal — when we always (and only) demand the theatrical, we miss beauty and magic in the subtle, the inconsequential and the ordinary.
A beautiful reflection and I share your love for the stark beauty of winter Marie
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Loved this piece today and what a wonderful image to accompany it.
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I agree that spending time in nature can be wonderfully therapeutic. Nice post today.
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Marie, I love the way you linked your cancer journey to the seasons. Nature is always a source of comfort to me. It’s vastness makes even big problems of mine feel smaller. And winter, it just might be my favorite season to photograph.
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I am so glad you agree Nancy – and yes, it is a wonderful season to photograph because you really do have to look with fresh eyes at the landscape around you to see the beauty therein.
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Thank you for making me see that even the dark of winter has it’s own beauty… That a lot of the time we miss because we are too busy looking for what was !!
Thank you again
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Thank you Ana for taking the time to comment – it is wonderful to have you here. Marie
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Because of James’ death, I find myself emerssed in the dark days of winter. He imparted his love and some of his endless knowledge about nature to me. Everyday I pass a neighbor’s ridgeline, capped with five, 100-year-old Post Oak trees. James always said that grouping were his favorite winter trees because their stark appearance was silhouetted and so spectacular against the early evening sky. Other people might have found them unattractive, but not James. You’re right, it depends on how we look at things. I’m still trying to “see” the good from this winter.
XOXOXO,
Brenda
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It will take time Brenda but I know you will get there (((hugs)))
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This is was perfectly timed to read today – my thoughts were wandering the frozen landscape outside my window to the dormant life that knows how to go inside… replenish… and wait… Thank you Marie – this is lovely.
…Ellyn
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Hi Ellyn, thank you for stopping by to share your thoughts – it is good to see you here. Marie
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